Webinar | ‘India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls’ | By CSSI
Open to the public.
Register Here.
Sunday, May 10, 2026, 11:00 am
The Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion (CSSI), at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru is organising a webinar on ‘India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls,’ as per the details below:
- Day & date: Sunday, May 10, 2026
- Tim: 11.00 AM – 1:10 PM
- Venue: online
Open to the public. Register on Zoom here.
The webinar will open with introductory remarks by Prof. (Dr.) Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice Chancellor, NLSIU and will be followed by two panel discussions.
Panel 1: Impact of the Special Intensive Revision on 12 states (11 a.m. to 12.10 p.m.)
- Prof. Yogendra Yadav, Member, Swaraj Abhiyan
- Dr. Srinivasan Ramani, Associate Editor, The Hindu
- Dr. Swati Narayan, Assistant Professor, NLSIU (moderator and commentator)
Panel 2: The Constitutional and Legal implications of the Special Intensive Revision (12.10 p.m. to 1.10 p.m.)
- Dr. Kamala Sankaran, Ford Foundation Chair in Public Interest Law, NLSIU
- S. Y. Quraishi, Former Chief Election Commissioner
- Prashant Bhushan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
- Jasmine Joseph, Assistant Professor, NLSIU (moderator and commentator)
About the webinar
This online dialogue seeks to analyse and encourage research on the legal and policy nuances of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), especially in terms of the impact on marginalised communities.
In June 2025, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a SIR in the state of Bihar to clean electoral rolls. While SIR was immediately challenged in the Supreme Court by a swathe of petitions, analysts argue that this exercise in Bihar alone could have potentially been the largest voter disenfranchisement in the world in the 21st century.
Article 324 of the Constitution and the 1950 Representation of the People Act entrusts the ECI with the preparation of electoral rolls, but not the mandate to determine citizenship. However, from October 2025 the ECI has expanded the SIR exercise to 12 states nationwide, with 18 more states on the anvil. Therefore, there is a need for nuanced research and debate on the legal precedents that it sets and its repercussions on Indian electoral democracy.
Webinar Schedule
Related links:
- The SIR, A Long Road to Exile? by Darashana Mitra, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU (The India Forum)
- Dr. Swati Narayan’s (Assistant Professor, NLSIU) remarks in an Al Jazeera story here.